This recipe is taken from Nick Nairn’s “Griddled halloumi,” published on BBC Food from his appearance on Ready Steady Cook — see the Griddled halloumi recipe on bbc.co.uk/food. It’s a simple open sandwich built around one central idea: griddle marks on halloumi and a plate of marinated courgette ribbons, stacked on toasted ciabatta.
Ingredients
- 1 courgette, cut into strips
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 4 slices halloumi
- 2 slices ciabatta, toasted
Serves 1, though the quantities scale up easily for a group cooking outdoors.
Method
- Mix the courgette strips, thyme leaves, olive oil and seasoning together in a bowl.
- Heat a griddle pan (or the direct-heat side of your grill) until hot. Place the courgette mixture on it and cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Add the halloumi slices and continue griddling for 3-4 minutes, until golden-brown stripes appear on the cheese.
- Arrange the toasted ciabatta on a plate and pile the griddled halloumi and courgette on top to serve.
The original recipe doesn’t specify a target temperature — just “hot” — since halloumi’s whole trick on a grill is that it holds its shape rather than melting, so there’s some forgiveness in how hard you run the heat.
Why Halloumi Doesn’t Melt
According to Cyprus’s official Halloumi.cy Trade Service (Ministry of Energy, Commerce and Industry), the raw materials for halloumi are fresh sheep or goat’s milk, or a mixture of the two, with or without cow’s milk added — and when cow’s milk is used, the sheep or goat’s milk must always outweigh it. Rennet, mint leaves and salt round out the traditional recipe. The high-heat treatment during production is what gives halloumi its “special characteristic,” as the Trade Service describes it: an ability to be fried or grilled without melting or spreading, which is exactly what lets it develop the griddle marks in Nairn’s recipe instead of turning into a puddle.
Cyprus, Not Greece
Halloumi is frequently sold alongside Greek ingredients, but it’s specifically Cypriot. On 12 April 2021 the European Commission registered “Χαλλούμι (Halloumi) / Hellim” as a Protected Designation of Origin, according to the Cyprus Trade Service’s PDO page, meaning that as of 1 October 2021, only cheese made on the island under the traditional recipe can be sold in the EU under that name. The Cyprus Cheesemakers Association traces written references to halloumi back to the 16th century, including a 1556 document by the Venetian Doge Leonardo Donà, and notes that by 1928 it was already being exported to destinations including Egypt, Greece, France, the UK and the United States.
Other Ways to Serve Grilled Halloumi
Nairn’s courgette-and-ciabatta build is one option among several the Cyprus Trade Service lists as traditional pairings. Its food pairing guidance suggests serving grilled halloumi hot, simply drizzled with olive oil, or cubed and threaded onto a kebab skewer with thick chunks of tomato and onion. It also notes that halloumi in burgers has become a popular summer barbecue idea in its own right, served either as a standalone vegetarian patty or alongside meat. If you want to skip the courgette ribbons entirely, any of those are a legitimate substitute for Nairn’s version — the halloumi itself, and the griddle marks it takes on, is doing the real work in this recipe.
A Word on the Diet Label
Because halloumi is a dairy cheese made with rennet, it’s neither vegan nor automatically vegetarian — rennet can be sourced from an animal’s stomach or from a microbial/vegetarian alternative, and Cyprus’s own specification doesn’t say which one is compulsory. If you’re cooking for a strict vegetarian, check the packet for a “vegetarian” or “microbial rennet” label rather than assuming, since that varies by producer. The courgette, thyme, olive oil and ciabatta in the rest of the dish are plant-based, but ciabatta dough can occasionally include dairy or, less commonly, egg wash, so it’s worth a quick label check there too if you’re catering to anyone with a dairy allergy on top of the cheese itself.
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